Thursday, June 22, 2006

On June 20th, the Toledo Blade finally paid attention to the situation brewing down in Toledo, Ohio where a DJ was making a racist ass of himself. The Toledo Blade Article gives you the basics. I've got an op-ed posted over at Asian American Press that covers some of my feelings on the matter. But I hope others will see the importance of speaking out against this kind of harassment. It shouldn't be tolerated anywhere.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Over at the blog of the terrific Barbara Jane Reyes, she's sent up an intriguing visual poem. In the name of interesting poetic dialogues, then, here is my own response. I look forward to seeing the responses of others on their blogs!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Kundiman is holding their Vincent Chin Memorial Chapbook Competition with a deadline for June 30th (Coming up fast) Visit Kundiman for more details.

Even better, visit Asian Week's classic 1997 article on Vincent Chin and learn more about the history of Vincent's tragic murder and its broader significance to Asian Americans, even 24 years later. Longtime readers of mine know that as an Asian American living in Michigan at the time, this case affected me deeply. I hope you'll continue to work against racism.

Monday, June 19th is the anniversary of the night Vincent Chin was attacked.

Of course, anyone who's seen my vacation photos or most of the photos from anyone else who's been back to Laos could have told you they're alive. Just one of the many fun discoveries to see back in the old country. It is fun to see that it's made "front page" headlines on AOL and a few other services. Of course, he didn't exactly know he was missing. Just heavily hunted. But go figure.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Featuring figures like the ever popular "Mother of Champions" who can give birth to a litter(!?!?) of 25 super soldiers every three days.

There's many things we could ask, like "Where's "Father of Champions?" and other issues of sex & sexuality. Or lack thereof, based on comic creators' apparent (no pun intended) view of Asians.

But that's a whole different rant.

In any case... Nice. I guess we can be glad we don't have Incredible Launderer, Knock-off, who possesses "the inscrutable ability to make cheap versions of anything he sees," or Crafty, the Sly Siamese Spy "who betray round-eye with single word..."

In the meantime, thanks to the hard work of Loren Javier, we can traipse through yesteryear at the Asian Pacific American Toychest to see how far we've come! While I'm not sure I agree with all of Loren's takes on the subjects he showcases, this is still a very interesting site and hopefully it will become a more comprehensive resource in the years to come!

Is it just me, but with the exception of Jubilee, did EVERY Asian American character in X-Men 3 get killed off?

Jubilee seems to always wander off in the films. Blink and you miss her, like this scene in X-Men 2:I'm won't go into all the things that could be said about how Psylocke was handled. (Who, in the comics, is a proper English psychic trapped in an Asian supermodel assassin's body with a lousy sense of costume practicalities... But then, aren't we all?)

Update: Given how several "well-known" X-men personalities were given short shrift in X3 it's probably good to point out that "Psylocke" was supposed to be the one on the far right with the purple hair and no dialogue:

I've just got to put in a plug for the upcoming film "The Motel" It's inspired by the very funny short-story that ultimately became Ed Lin's classic novel "Waylaid," a definitely must-read if you can find a copy! Thanks to Angry Asian Man for posting the current poster for this film!

From The Dept. of "Hmmmm.":Zhang Ziyi seems to be in talks to star in an un-Disneyfied Mulan. This could go good or bad. After all, the authentic Mulan story is a timeless classic.

This is the publisher's blurb about "The Ethics and Poetics of Alterity in Asian American Poetry" by Xiaojing Zhou from the University of Iowa Press that's coming out this year:"Poetry by Asian American writers has had a significant impact on the landscape of contemporary American poetry, and a book-length critical treatment of Asian American poetry is long overdue. In this groundbreaking book, Xiaojing Zhou demonstrates how many Asian American poets transform the conventional "I" of lyric poetry - based on the traditional Western concept of the self and the Cartesian "I" - to enact a more ethical relationship between the "I" and its others. Drawing on Emmanuel Levinas's idea of the ethics of alterity - which argues that an ethical relation to the other is one that acknowledges the irreducibility of otherness - Zhou offers a reconceptualization of both self and other. Taking difference as a source of creativity and turning it into a form of resistance and a critical intervention, Asian American poets engage with broader issues than the merely poetic. They confront social injustice against the other and call critical attention to a concept of otherness which differs fundamentally from that underlying racism, sexism, and colonialism. By locating the ethical and political questions of otherness in language, discourse, aesthetics, and everyday encounters, Asian American poets help advance critical studies in race, gender, and popular culture as well as in poetry. "The Ethics and Poetics of Alterity" is not limited, however, to literary studies: it is an invaluable response to the questions raised by increasingly globalized encounters across many kinds of boundaries."

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited by the idea of the book, and will try and get a copy. I'm grateful to Xiaojing Zhou for writing this text. I think it's important for those in academics and MFAs, and it's a monumental undertaking.

On the other hand, speaking from the perspective of a practicing Asian American poet, I just find this sort of thing, well, tedious for non-academics.

Writers write, as they say, and this doesn't sound like the sort of thing that will easily win over any new fans from the general population to the marvels and joys of Asian American poetry.

And I believe there ARE marvels and joys to it.

But hey, I already wrote about this whole matter in my poem, "The Big G." in 2004, in less than 300 pages.

And, you know what, I think I'm just going to let that poem stand for the rest of my argument. Because that's what poetry is supposed to do anyway.

One of the critical dilemmas is the question of Asian America. I wrestle with it at a personal level. In pending posts, it may be helpful to understand where I'm coming from. My belief is we have, at a minimum, a quintilateral identity. In no particular order:

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Welcome to the all-new blog by Laotian American writer Bryan Thao Worra! The focus of this blog will be on issues in contemporary Asian American writing and community activism, as well as popular culture and whatever seems appropos the moment.

As a caveat, I've usually not had much luck with maintaining blogs, but with your support and feedback we'll provide a fun and interesting journey with regular posts and updates!

About Me

An award-winning Laotian American writer, I work actively to support Laotian, Hmong and Southeast Asian American artists. I am recognized by the Loft Literary Center, the Minnesota State Arts Board and the National Endowment for the Arts. I also served as a consulting contractor with the Minnesota History Center, the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans and the Minnesota Humanities Commission. I am an active professional member of the Horror Writer Association and president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

You Can Also Visit My Patreon:

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